[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2619 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2619

  To reaffirm and clarify the Federal relationship of the Gabrieleno/
 Tongva Nation as a distinct federally recognized Indian tribe and to 
           restore aboriginal rights, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 24, 2001

  Ms. Solis introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To reaffirm and clarify the Federal relationship of the Gabrieleno/
 Tongva Nation as a distinct federally recognized Indian tribe and to 
           restore aboriginal rights, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Gabrieleno/Tongva Nation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States Government has had continuous 
        dealings with the Gabrieleno/Tongva Nation from 1771 until at 
        least 1961. The Gabrieleno/Tongva Nation is the descendant of, 
        and political successor to, the signatories of the June 10, 
        1851, Fort Tejon Treaty.
            (2) The Gabrieleno/Tongva Nation traditionally occupied the 
        entire Los Angeles Basin and the islands of Santa Catalina, San 
        Nicholas, and San Clemente, from Topanga Canyon to Laguna 
        Beach, from the San Gabriel Mountains to the sea, in most of 
        what is now Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
            (3) Several Federal officials have in the past recognized 
        the Nation. In 1851 and 1852, the United States Government sent 
        Commissioner Barbour to treat with the Indians of Los Angeles, 
        but he was called away. Also in 1852, Superintendent of Indian 
        Affairs E.F. Beale noted a numerous Indian population within 
        Los Angeles County. In 1855, Superintendent of Indian Affairs 
        Henley noted that the Indians in and around Los Angeles should 
        be moved to a reservation. Records show that a small number of 
        the Nation lived at the Sebastian Reserve at the Tejon Pass, 
        part of Los Angeles County. In the 1870s former Mission Indian 
        Agent J.Q. Stanley noted the grievances of the Indians living 
        at Mission San Gabriel.
            (4) Scholars and academics have also noted the existence of 
        the Nation. Helen Hunt Jackson, in the mid-1880s noted that the 
        Gabrieleno/Tongva were continuing to live in the San Gabriel 
        area where many worked as day laborers. At the turn of the 
        century, C. Hart Merriam and J.P. Harrington indicated that 
        there were some groups of the Nation living at the Tejon 
        Reservation, and further noted that one of the tribes 
        represented at the reservation was the ``Tongva of San 
        Gabriel''.
            (5) In the early 1900s, the Federal Government allowed 
        Nation members, most of whom were of one-half Indian blood, to 
        register at the Sherman Indian School in Riverside, California.
            (6) The United States purchased land for the Nation in 1913 
        according to the Kelsey Map of Indians of California, which 
        indicates a symbol corresponding to ``lands recently 
        purchased'' at the site of San Gabriel.
            (7) By 1928, many Nation members were still living in their 
        traditional area of San Gabriel and identifying themselves as 
        tribal members, as evidenced by the California Indians' 
        Jurisdictional Act. This Act authorized the Secretary to create 
        a roll of California Indians for payment purposes. There are at 
        least 150 Gabrieleno/Tongvas on this roll, approximately fifty 
        with one-half degree Indian blood or more, and 128 of at least 
        one-quarter Indian blood.
            (8) The Nation's membership has historically included and 
        presently includes a verifiable half-blood community, which is 
        eligible for organization under section 19 of the Act of June 
        18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 479, commonly referred to as the Indian 
        Reorganization Act), but the Bureau of Indian Affairs ignored 
        the half-blood community and led the Nation to believe that it 
        could not organize as a half-blood community.
            (9) The Nation has been politically active at the national 
        level via the Mission Indian Federation, which lobbied the 
        Congress for various Indian causes from the 1920s to the 1950s. 
        The Nation was also a plaintiff in an Indian Claims Commission 
        case in 1949. Forty-six bands filed suit, including the Tongva. 
        The Bureau of Indian Affairs approved contracts for each band 
        and included the Nation in all negotiations. After twelve 
        years, all 46 bands were required to vote on a settlement, and 
        the registers of voters indicated that the Nation members who 
        voted at these meetings were, or are, relatives of presentday 
        tribal members.
            (10) The State of California recognized the Gabrieleno/
        Tongva in 1994, stating, ``The State of California...takes 
        pride in recognizing the Indian inhabitants of the Los Angeles 
        Basin and the continued existence of the Indian community 
        within our State''. (``Certificate of Recognition'', signed by 
        California Assembly member Diane Martinez, 1994). Furthermore, 
        the city of San Gabriel recognizes the Gabrieleno/Tongva 
        Nation.
            (11) The Nation has maintained its distinct community on 
        its ancestral lands in San Gabriel and has maintained its 
        unique culture and identity and maintains governance through a 
        viable tribal government and a constitution and bylaws.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Member.--The term ``member'' means those individuals 
        enrolled in the Nation pursuant to section 6.
            (2) Nation.--The term ``Nation'' means the Gabrieleno/
        Tongva Nation.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

    (a) Federal Recognition.--Federal recognition of the Gabrieleno/
Tongva Nation is hereby affirmed. All laws and regulations of the 
United States of general application to Indians or nations, tribes, or 
bands of Indians, including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et 
seq.), which are inconsistent with any specific provision of this Act 
shall not be applicable to the Nation and its members. Such laws and 
regulations which are not inconsistent with any specific provision of 
this Act shall be applicable to the Nation and its members.
    (b) Federal Services and Benefits.--
            (1) In general.--The Nation and its members shall be 
        eligible for all services and benefits provided by the Federal 
        Government to Indians because of their status as federally 
        recognized Indians, and notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, such services and benefits shall be provided after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act to the Nation and its members 
        without regard to the existence of a reservation for the Nation 
        or the location of the residence of any member on or near any 
        Indian reservation.
            (2) Service areas.--For purposes of the delivery of Federal 
        services to the enrolled members of the Nation, the service 
        area shall consist of Los Angeles County and portions of 
        Ventura and Orange Counties. Such services shall be provided 
        notwithstanding the establishment of a reservation for the 
        Nation after the date of enactment of this Act. Services may be 
        provided to members outside the named service areas unless 
        prohibited by law or regulation.

SEC. 5. REAFFIRMATION OF RIGHTS.

    (a) In General.--All rights and privileges of the Nation and its 
members, which may have been abrogated or diminished before the date of 
the enactment of this Act, are hereby reaffirmed and restored.
    (b) Existing Rights of Nation.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to diminish any right or privilege of the Nation or of its 
members that existed before the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Except as otherwise specifically provided in any other provision of 
this Act, nothing in this Act shall be construed as altering or 
affecting any legal or equitable claim the Nation may have to enforce 
any right or privilege reserved by or granted to the Nation which was 
wrongfully denied or taken from the Nation before the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. TRIBAL MEMBERSHIP.

    Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Nation shall submit to the Secretary a membership roll 
consisting of all individuals currently enrolled for membership in the 
Nation. The qualifications for inclusion on the membership roll of the 
Nation shall be determined by the membership clauses in the Nation's 
governing document. Upon completion of the roll, the Secretary shall 
immediately publish notice of such in the Federal Register. The Nation 
shall ensure that such roll is maintained and kept current.

SEC. 7. TRIBAL LANDS.

    The Nation's tribal lands shall consist of all real property, now 
or hereafter held by, or in trust for, the Nation. The Secretary shall 
acquire real property for the Nation. Any such property shall be taken 
by the Secretary in the name of the United States in trust for the 
benefit of the Nation and shall become part of the Nation's 
reservation.

SEC. 8. CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNING BODY.

    (a) Constitution.--
            (1) Adoption.--Not later than 24 months after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct, by 
        secret ballot, elections for the purpose of adopting a new 
        constitution for the Nation. The elections shall be held in 
        accordance with the procedures applicable to elections under 
        section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 476).
            (2) Interim governing documents.--Until such time as a new 
        constitution is adopted under paragraph (1), the governing 
        documents in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act 
        shall be the interim governing documents for the Nation.
    (b) Officials.--
            (1) Elections.--Not later than 6 months after the Nation 
        adopts their constitution pursuant to subsection (a), the 
        Nation shall conduct elections by secret ballot for the purpose 
        of electing officials for the Nation as provided in the 
        Nation's governing constitution. The elections shall be 
        conducted according to the procedures described in the Nation's 
        constitution.
            (2) Interim governments.--Until such time as the Nation 
        elects new officials pursuant to paragraph (1), the Nation's 
        governing bodies shall be those bodies in place on the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, or any new governing bodies selected 
        under the election procedures specified in the respective 
        interim governing documents of the Nation.

SEC. 9. JURISDICTION.

    The Nation shall have jurisdiction to the full extent allowed by 
law over all lands taken into trust for the benefit of the Nation by 
the Secretary. The Nation shall exercise jurisdiction over all its 
members who reside within the service area in matters pursuant to the 
Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), as if the 
members were residing upon a reservation, as defined in that Act.
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